A LimeLight Marketing Internship

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As a college student, I know the concepts I’m learning in the classroom are only a starting point to developing my career. The addition of an effective work experience while in college is the perfect gateway to a highly competitive workforce. The key is to find the right job opportunity, one in which you can develop those classroom concepts into valuable skills, gain new skills, and have fun. That is exactly the kind of experience I’ve been having since I started my internship at LimeLight Marketing.

There is no question that internships present a great opportunity to test the waters of a career path because they serve as a mirror of what life can become. With that in mind, I wanted to write a testimonial so that future prospective interns can gain insight into day-to-day life as a Limey. To do that most effectively, I reached out to former LimeLight interns who have developed into promising professionals. Whether you are thinking about interning with LimeLight or are simply just looking for more information on why internships are important, this blog is for you.

Seizing Opportunity

A fundamental part of what makes a marketing agency successful is their design team. At LimeLight, clients come from a variety of industries, so the required design work is complex and diverse.

Our current Junior Designer, Natasha Lawrence, told me the best part about being an intern is to “have had the opportunity to expand my skills while working on animations, poster and t-shirt designs, finalize branding boards, and create a wide range of designs for both social and print media.” She also praises LimeLight for building her confidence as a designer and for giving consideration to her design ideas and opinions.

At LimeLight, interns are not separate from full-time employees. “I get treated as though I am a real employee and I get assigned tasks that everyone else at LimeLight would get to work on,” says Justine Barrett, LimeLight current Jr. Marketing & Design Coordinator. Justine’s internship consists of marketing and design work. Some of her tasks include designing assets for clients, as well as social media graphics and competitive research analysis. These assignments have taught her that there is value in every experience. “I thought about the takeaways and how the experience could help me grow as an individual and help me in my professional career.”

Limey interns belong to the team and as such, what we bring to the table is considered as important as what everyone else contributes. This culture allows us to be in a constant learning environment. “This amount of learning is what has helped me prepare for my career the most, I think,” says Aaron Troglia, LimeLight current Web Developer. Aaron started as an intern in the spring of 2017 and has since been an essential part of the development work for many LimeLight clients. Aaron loved being challenged by the projects he was assigned, even if there were some concepts that were new to him at the time. “Having the capability to teach yourself new techniques and concepts is critical to have in a professional career,” he added.

Overcoming Challenges

Working with a diverse and dynamic marketing team has its perks and challenges. For Michaela Jones, former marketing intern, “The practice of working as part of a professional team, under a deadline, to create a marketing campaign for a client, was necessary to really succeed as an intern and in future positions.” The plethora of clients she worked with pushed her to seek creative ideas that work for the client’s brand. “It’s awesome to have creative ideas that push the envelope of design, techniques, and ways of thinking.”

In a world where the average person is exposed to at least 5,000 different ads per day, Michaela knows that innovation and creativity are powerful tools to stand-out from the competition. “It has to catch the customer’s attention, be of value to them, make them smile, and engage them. The creative ideas I come up with must serve a purpose; that’s one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned at LimeLight that I am still cultivating today.”

Michaela is currently based in Saint Louis, Missouri where she is rocking it as the Associate Graphic Designer and Videographer for the Gateway Region YMCA, a 24-branch association in the greater St. Louis/Illinois area.

School and Work Balance

Recent studies have shown that the experiential learning provided by internships has a direct positive outcome for college graduates. This journal by the National Association of Colleges and Employers indicates that college graduates who have internship experience are more likely to get a full-time job after graduation.

However, the question of how to balance school and work remains challenging for students wanting to succeed at both. “I overcame that challenge by making sure I was prepared well for each day; making to-do lists and using my Google calendar to keep track of where I needed to be and when,” says Ali Noyes, a former marketing intern at LimeLight. Ali wore many hats during her time at LimeLight. She started as an intern just three months after the agency first opened. Her work in email marketing and social media marketing eventually transitioned into a part-time position within the agency during her last year and a half of college, before graduating with both a Bachelor in Business Administration and MBA degrees.

Ali is thankful for her time working at LimeLight because it prepared her in ways that she never could’ve imagined. “It showed me what opportunities there were in the marketing field, and it also helped mold me into a better person with higher goals than I had before I worked there.” Ali is now a full-time employee in Kansas City, Missouri, where she works as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at Mediavo, a position she obtained with the help of the knowledge she acquired at LimeLight. “I felt I was ready to excel in anything I did because I knew what was going to be expected of me in the ‘real world.’ I also had the experience necessary to compete against and stand out among other applicants during the job search.”

Been There, Done That

So what advice do former interns have for anyone starting an internship? For Natasha Lawrence, it is very important to be ready to show off a wide range of skills. She says, “Do not be afraid to put yourself out there and design, design, DESIGN.” She added that being willing to learn and being humble about it are also good attitudes to have.

Aaron Troglia echoed this comment by saying, “Many opportunities can open up for you if you are willing to give something new a try.”

You only regret the chances that you didn’t take, right?

For me, I have always been a firm believer that the purpose of an internship is to be able to gain valuable knowledge in a highly-skilled industry. Michaela Jones agrees: “The intern experience is to expand skills, ask questions, learn how to interact with both clients and coworkers, all in an environment of learning.”

In other words, an internship is still a classroom, but in a different setting. “Take every opportunity you are given and always look for more,” says Ali Noyes. “Soak up every ounce of knowledge around you and write it down so you remember it and can use it later. Always carry a notebook and a pen.”

As an intern, you should not be expected to know everything. Therefore, pay attention to the professionals around you: your coworkers. “They are an amazing support system if you have questions or need help,” said Justine Barrett.